Those of us with an interest in World War II know the OSS wasn't very active in Sicily or Italy. And that Allen Dullas---later director of the CIA---was chiefly responsible for negotiating the surrender of the German Army in Italy at the end of the War.
Well, maybe that's not quite true.
Max Corvo left Sicily with his family when he was 10 years old. He grew up in the U.S. When our country entered the war, Corvo found himself serving as a buck private in the Army's Quartermaster Corps. He had an idea of how to help the U.S. seize Sicily, when American forces weren't even in North Africa yet. So he wrote a paper containing his ideas and sent it to the Army's G-2 (Intelligence branch). Frankly, I can't even imagine a buck private doing this today.
To make a long story short, Corvo eventually found himself directing OSS operations in Sicily and Italy as an officer. What he accomplished was amazing. And he did much of it with former Italian soldiers who turned against the Germans after Italy surrendered to the Allies. And the stories told in this book show how OSS missions significantly helped the Allies win in Sicily and Italy.
A lot of this books deals with administrative organization and the resulting infighting, often by military and civilian bureaucrats who tried to seize control---and the accompanying status---of OSS operations in these two areas. Corvo spent much of his time fighting them off. As a result, this book probably isn't a good or easy read for the general reader. It also describes the conflict between U.S. personal---who wanted to win the war and allow the Italians to choose their own form of government---and the British SOE which wanted to ensure a conservative monarchy ruled Italy after the war under British influence.
Some of the real value of this book is its description of the final days of the war in Italy. Italian partisan units----supplied by the OSS and which waged a bloody war against the German and Fascist Italian units from 1943 on---were now coming in for the kill of these Axis soldiers who often brutally terrorized Italian citizens from 1943 on. Corvo describes the OSS efforts to control the potential slaughter of thousands more and accept the surrender of the German units.
He also describes Allen Dulles' successful coup to eliminate the OSS people who achieved all this, by convincing Washington to recall them to the U.S. so Dulles could take command and the credit.
Well, maybe that's not quite true.
Max Corvo left Sicily with his family when he was 10 years old. He grew up in the U.S. When our country entered the war, Corvo found himself serving as a buck private in the Army's Quartermaster Corps. He had an idea of how to help the U.S. seize Sicily, when American forces weren't even in North Africa yet. So he wrote a paper containing his ideas and sent it to the Army's G-2 (Intelligence branch). Frankly, I can't even imagine a buck private doing this today.
To make a long story short, Corvo eventually found himself directing OSS operations in Sicily and Italy as an officer. What he accomplished was amazing. And he did much of it with former Italian soldiers who turned against the Germans after Italy surrendered to the Allies. And the stories told in this book show how OSS missions significantly helped the Allies win in Sicily and Italy.
A lot of this books deals with administrative organization and the resulting infighting, often by military and civilian bureaucrats who tried to seize control---and the accompanying status---of OSS operations in these two areas. Corvo spent much of his time fighting them off. As a result, this book probably isn't a good or easy read for the general reader. It also describes the conflict between U.S. personal---who wanted to win the war and allow the Italians to choose their own form of government---and the British SOE which wanted to ensure a conservative monarchy ruled Italy after the war under British influence.
Some of the real value of this book is its description of the final days of the war in Italy. Italian partisan units----supplied by the OSS and which waged a bloody war against the German and Fascist Italian units from 1943 on---were now coming in for the kill of these Axis soldiers who often brutally terrorized Italian citizens from 1943 on. Corvo describes the OSS efforts to control the potential slaughter of thousands more and accept the surrender of the German units.
He also describes Allen Dulles' successful coup to eliminate the OSS people who achieved all this, by convincing Washington to recall them to the U.S. so Dulles could take command and the credit.
